Road form and rail



Mar. 27, 1923.

' 1,449,626. 0. B. PULIS.

ROAD FORM AND RAIL. FILED FEB. H, 192:.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- Mar. 27, 1923.

7 1,449,626. 0, B. PULIS.

ROAD FORM AND RAIL. FILED FEB-H.1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- E f r w I I: 3

Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

OSCAR B. PULIS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, .ASSIGNORJTQ METAL FORMS. QQRPO- RATION, F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ACORPOBATION.

30 5 O M AN BAIL- It is known that' at the presenttime the building of concrete roads by most modern methods necessitate the employment of suitable forms which are laid at the opposite sides of the road subgrade, the concrete beingv distributedbetween the. forms in the customa-ry way, preferably by distributing machines. In. so far as I am aware the road forms which'have been put into; use up to this time are designed especially with a view to constituting formsfalone But the tendencyl of practice. in laying, concrete roads is leading to the employment of road finishing 25, machines, andl think will in time lead to the use of even mixing or distributing machines, the most advantageous operation of which makes desirable that they travel upon the road forms Under the last mentioned conditions. he road forms constitute rails, and'in my presen t invention I anticipate a large degree of utility when the road form may be utilized as a rail, for which reason I especially construct my form so that it may perform this function.

j VViththe understanding, therefore, that my construction hereafter proposed is a combined road form and rail, it is notable that I have devised the structure with aspe- 'cial vie'w to obtaining a high degree of bracing effect for thehead of the combined form and rail so that it may effectively resist mutilation and distortion otherwise likely to take'place under the severe conditionsjof With t e foregoing in 4 usage of this class. I

. view therefore, I employ a construction wherein the form and rail comprises a base of relatively large area, a' form element which is substantially vertical, a head readily adaptable for use as a rail, together with brace means for the head and form element, said brace means "including a'jclownwardly inclined web,

"Additionally I utilize a special form of 5 stake holder, one of arched construction so" form and Application filed February 11, 1921. Serial No. 444,150.

united with the body of the form and rail as to afford a rigid bracing means therefor. ilnother feature of importance of my invention resides in the construction of'the device albo've "outlined in such a way that a substantially closed structure is provided, in other words, one in which there is little or no possibility of lodgement of concrete or foreign matter upon theform so as to interfere with the proper setting in place of the latter, or with the travel upon the head of the'rail section, of a road finishing or working machine.

Still another feature of myinve'ntion resides in the employment of a, special type of stake holder and oint member to be used at the abutting ends of sections of the. road form and rail. r

I furthermore employ a peculiar and advantageous locking device in conjunction with the stake holder and bracing means which I have above referred to, by which to facilitatethehoriZontal 'alinement of the sections of theroad form and rail, and enabling expeditious performing of'the above operanon. in'conjunction with the stake or stakes employed to hold the forms in position upon the 'subgrade of the road; i "The foregoing and other features of detail construction will become morefully apparent upon the reference to the following description in connection with thefannexed drawings in which K Figure 1 isa perspective view of a road rail of my invention, the stake holder and brace being illustrated inthe forms which it takes intermediatethe ends of the rails, and'when constituting a part of the joint means at the said ends Figure 2 is a side View showing more clearly the intermediate stake'"holder and brace device;' I

Figure 3'is a side view of the joint device and stakeholder; I Figure' l is a top plan view, partly broken away and shown in 'section'o f'the construction in Figure 2;

plan viewsimilar to Fig- Figurebis" a' top the construction of Figure 4' but showing ure3;

' Figure 6 is a sectional view "on the line PM Free e Theflocking device aforesaid operates A. The

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the cut away formation of each end of a form and rail section.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the end closure for the form and rail.

The construction of my form and rail has been designed with a view to simplicity and is preferably one which may be made wholly of sheet metal with parts suitably riveted to provide substantial connections where necessary. Referring to Figure l, A denotes the base of the rail which is bent upwardly at one edge to provide the form element B which consists of a vertical web, practically speaking. At its upper portion the form element B is bent laterally to provide the head C forming the ball of a rail in its action, said head being slightly flat and then curving downwardly to provide the brace or web D. The brace D has a horizontal flange 1 which is riveted or otherwise secured to the base A.

At intervals in its length the brace D is notched out, and its flange is correspondingly notched so as to receive the stake holder and brace 2. The part 2 is of somewhat U form in cross section being comprised of sides 2 formed with base lugs 3 riveted to the base A of the form and rail. At its inner end the brace and holder 2 has a down turned flange seen best in Figures 6 and 7 and designated 4, which flange is riveted or suitably attached flat against the inside of the vertical web or form element B. It is evident that the brace and stake holder 2 not only reinforces the brace D vertically, but also reinforces it against longitudinal distortion, since the edge portions of the web D where it is notched to receive the part D engage the sides 2 of said part 2.

At points where sections of the road form and rail abut it is desirable to provide joint means capable of being preliminarily set up so that the form and rail may be en gaged therewith and properly alined. This joint means according to my invention is comprised of a combined stake holder and joint member constructed as shown in Figures 1, 5 and 7. For the purpose just expressed I utilize the joint member consisting of a base plate 5, a brace and stake holder 6 and a joint member 7. The joint member 7 consists of a bracket made of a shape conforming" with the shape of the body of the form and rail in respect particularly to the construction of the base A. form element B, and brace D. all in one piece. That is to say, the bracket or joint member 7 has a base portion. a vertical portion and head and brace parts which fit into the corresponding parts of the form and'rail itself. form and rail body is notched as shown in Figure 8, at its ends, so that it may be placed over and practically interlocked with the bracket 7 of the combined joint stake holding means. The U-shaped brace 6 of the joint means aforesaid is riveted on to the base plate 5 and its down turned flange 8 is riveted to the vertical web of the bracket or rail supporting member '7, as seen best in Figure 7.

A stake E is adapted to engage with the brace and stake holders 2 and 6 of the constructions hereinbefore described, passing vertically through openings in the top of the brace and stake holder 2, and the base A of the road form, according to one construction, and similarly passing through the top of the brace and stake holder 6 and base plate 5 according to the other construction.

As a conveniently operable means for positively engaging the stakes E with the parts with which they are adapted to cooperate I may utilize a locking device 9 as shown in Figure 6, the same being an arm of spring steel preferably riveted on to the flange 4, or the flange 8 as the case may be, and projecting outwardly and upwardly from said parts so as to extend slightly beyond the free extremity of the brace and stake holder devices 2 and 6. This arm 9 is so placed that a tension is set up in it when pressure is applied downwardly by weight upon the head of the form and rail. A binding effect is produced between the parts 9 and E as the part 9 is provided with an opening through which the stake E passes. To release this binding action the arm 9 may be depressed by stepping upon the same and forcing it downward slightly thereby permitting the stake E to be readily; pulled or removed.

It is contemplated that if desired the stake holding and joint means shown at the right in Figure 1. and in Figures 5 and 7, may be made of a cast construction, that is with the bracket 7, base plate 5. and stake holding and bracing element 6, in one piece or in a couple pieces as the limitations of. manufacture might render desirable. My mode of riveting the bracket 7 to the base plate 5 and to the top of the member 6, as is shown at 10, aflords an absolutely rigid and effective construction however.

A notable feature of importance of my construction is the fact that the openings in the U-shaped brace, and the base, of the form and. rail. afford atwo point bearing for supporting the form in relation to the stake by which it is held in position, and properly lined up on the subgrade, by any suitable means for the purpose.

Reverting to the operation of the locking device 9 which engages the stake E in the manner hereinbefore set forth it may be stated additionally that said device acts as a sort of automatic clutch in its engagement with the stake, for supporting the rail or form at any given position vertically of the in, position by the 1001; devices 9, until the said ra-ils have been substantially blockedin proper position on a foundation, or fastened securely in some other manner. Under practical tests the spring lock 9 has been shown to be very effective and grips very tightly indeed.

, At the top of the notch which receives the brace or bracket 2 for thestake the metal of the web D of the rail is bent outward to form a flange D which is riveted to the top of the brace or bracket 2 as shown clearly in the drawings. Furthermore, I purposely employ a closure F for the end of the form or rail, the said closure consisting of an angle shapedplat a side of which is riveted to the part B, and the other side ofwhich extends across the space between .the parts Band D, and acts somewhat to brace the latter. Thisclosu're may or may not be used as desired, but may preferably be employed.

With my general construction of road form and rail, and brace and stake holding means substantially as set forth above, it will be apparent that an exceedingly strong and rigid form and rail is provided, that little or no possibility of lodgement of the concrete aggregates in any open parts of the structure is a likelihood, because the structure is practically a closed one, and opportunity for dirt or snow or other foreign matter to similarly lodge upon'and interfere with the usefulness of the structure is avoided.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. As a new article of manufacture, a road form and rail comprising a base having a substantially vertical form element extending upwardly therefrom and provided with a head constituting a rail, together with a brace coextensive with the length of the rail projecting downwardly from said head and united with the base.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a combined road form and rail made from a piec of sheet metal comprising a horizontal base, the base being bent upwardly at one edge to provide a substantially vertical form element, thence bent laterally to provide a rail head, and thence bent downwardly and united With the base to provide a bracing member.

3. A road form and rail substantially as claimed in claim 2, combined with braces coacting with the said bracing member and located at intervals in the length thereof.

4. A road form and rail substantially as claimed in claim 2, ombined with braces c'oacting with the said bracing member and located at intervals in the length thereof, and stakes engaging the last named braces and the base portionof the form and rail.

5. A combined road form and rail comprising a metal bodybent to provide a horizontal base and a substantially vertical form element, thence bent laterally from the form element to provide a head constituting a rail and thence bent downwardly and outwardly to provide an inclinedbrace for the head and form element. 1 H I,

6. A road form and rail as claimed in claim 5, together with means connecting the lower edge of-the brace with the base, and means to reinforce the brace consisting of other brace members carried by theba'se'and secured thereto so as to support the first named brace, said otherbrace members being attached to the form element also. h

.7. A road form and rail as claimed in claim 6 wherein the base and the brace members are provided with registering openings to receive a stake for engagement therer with to hold the form and rail in position upon a subgrade. I p

8, A combined roadjform and rail 'co mprising a sheet metal body consisting of a horizontal base, a vertical form element, the latter bent to provide a rail head, and a downwardly extending brace connected with the base, and other brace members located in the length of said body and coacting with the base, the first mentioned brace being notched for engagement with the said brace members.

9. A road form and rail substantially as claimed in claim 8, certain of the said other brace members being equipped with brackets to engage the form element, the head, and the brace of the said body, at points where sections of the form and rail are joined.

10. A combined road form and rail consisting of a sheet metal body having a horizontal base, an up turned form element, the form element being bent laterally and clownwardly to provide rail head and brace portions respectively, and. U-shaped braces arranged transverse to the form and rail body and cooperative with the base thereof to reinforce the latter.

11. A road form and rail substantially as claimed in claim 10 wherein the base and said U-shaped member have registering openings to receive a stake, and a spring arm extending from the form element and adapted to engage a stake with a spring action.

12. A road rail and form comprising a body provided with spaced upper andv lower said bearing openings so that the form and rail has a two point bearing in relation to the stake.

13. A road form and rail and means for positioning same upon a road subgrade comprising a stake, and locking means intermediate the rail and stake adapted to automatically grip the latter.

14. Means substantially as claimed in claim 13 wherein the automatic gripping means consists of a spring member carried by the rail and engageable with the stake.

15. Means substantially as claimed in claim 13 wherein the said gripping means is so engaged with the stake to automatically act to hold the form and rail against movement in one direction, but permit the free movement of the same on the stake in another direction. 1

16. A road form comprising a body, a stake for holding said form in position on a subgrade, and a spring arm carried by the body of the form and having an opening through which the stake passes. said arm being so disposed that it automatically acts to clutch the stake on relative movement of the form and stake in one way, and permits free movement of the form of the stake on relative movement of these parts in another way.

17. As a' new article of manufacture, a

' concrete road form comprising a substantially closed hollow structure throughout its length, made from a piece of sheet metal comprising a base bent up to provide a form member, the latter bent laterally to provide a head, and the head being bentdownwardly to form a closing and bracing web.

18. As a new article of manufacture, a road form and rail comprising a base bent upward to form a form member, the latter bent laterally to provide a head, and a series of braces located at intervals in the length of the rail and each comprising a unitary metallic structure coacting to brace the head above the base, the said brace structure being equipped with a stake opening, and the base having also a stake opening spaced below that of the brace, the two openings affording a two point bearing engagement for a stake, means on said structure to lockingly engage a stake adjacent to said openings.

19. A road form and rail as claimed in claim 18, wherein each brace and the base of the rail have the said bearings for each stake vertically spaced from one another, affording a two interlocking point bearing engagement of the whole rail on each stake preventing lateral tilting, and wherein the last named locking means is a lock member located between said bearings.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

OSCAR B. PULIsf 

